Games for Events

We have a lot of games and ideas that are fantastic for events of all
kinds including: weddings, anniversaries, stag dos (that's Bachelor parties
for our American friends), fairs, parties, games nights and corporate
events. First off, it's important to decide what sort of event you want
to hold. We've classified events into four types:

Games to accompany and enhance an event

e.g. for weddings, family parties, pre-dinner entertainment or the office
Christmas party

Some
people want to have an event where games are not the central theme but
are just scattered around for peripheral entertainment.

This is a fairly low maintenance way of organising entertainment for
your event and works well for events such as wedding receptions or adhoc
parties in your back garden. You will need to pick games that can be left
unattended in suitable places around your garden or hall where the event
is taking place. For more information on games that look enticing and
are easy for people to have a go at without assistance, see Games
to Accompany Parties, Weddings and Events.

Games nights, themed tournaments, pub game Olympics

Sometimes,
the games are the core part of the event's entertainment. Perhaps you
are organising a games evening or want to encourage participation in various
mini-competitions. Some people have organised pub games night or a pub
games Olympics or Pentathlon - these can make for a memorable day indeed!

In
this case, a measure of organisation will be required - someone will need
to be on hand to adjudicate and manage the gaming part of the event. Complicated
games should still be avoided but some games might need a bit of explanation
so the organiser and/or helpers will need to be on hand for instruction
and questions.

If
it's a wider competition involving multiple games then an explanation
of how that will work will be required and someone is going to need to
take charge of recording and compiling the results and resolving any disputes
(these things can get quite competitive in certain circles!).

For people interested in the pub games night idea, please peruse our
Pub Games FAQ page.

Fairs, summer fetes and fund-raising

The
sort of games needed forvillage fairs and similar events require certain
attributes: they need to be pretty simple to understand, require quick
turns and usually to have some kind of immediate result so that a prize
can be allocated- or not -depending on the result.

We've compiled a list of games that are perfect for fairs - including
both well known fair games, such as hoop-la, and less well known games
that will help to spark a bit of interest at your fair. We manufacture
certain equipment such as coconut shy posts and hoop-la blocks ourselves
as sometimes this stuff is not so easy to obtain. For more information
see our Fair Games and our Fair
Games Advice page.

Casino nights

Casino
nights are a special type of gaming event that require unique arrangements
because games such as Poker, Blackjack and Roulette need croupiers to
manage the tables. Most people get round this by hiring a specialist firm
who bring all the tables and equipment required, as well as staff to manage
the games and the overall event.

It
is possible to buy the equipment and organise such an event yourself as
long as:

people won't take things too seriously

you have enough helpers

no real money is changing hands

For an idea of games that can be played at a Casino Evening, see our
Casino games page.